The new BMW M2 is the next biggest thing to come from Munich and to make sure BMW’s staying in line with catering to the driving enthusiast, 2-Series enthusiast side 2Addicts reportedly received the scoop to hear confirmation on the M2’s drivetrain options.

The new M2 seeks to follow in the footsteps of the original, but limited production 1-Series M Coupe, and will be produced as a normal M model, unlike the former 1-Series version. That means power is expected to be supplied by a 3.0L TwinPower turbocharged inline six with around 365hp and 343 lb-ft of twist with an overboost function to sink your arse into the seat even more with 369 lb-ft.

Ultimately however, 2Addicts apparently received confirmation of the options for either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DCT for the M2. That’s a bit of a relief, given some manufacturers are doing away with the manual transmission altogether simply because automatic technology has exceed the capabilities of a manual. But it’s not nearly as fun or involving.

Either way, the M2 is scheduled to take a bow under the spotlight at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show in September while an online reveal may occur next month.

While BMW has been pointlessly charging more for less with their stylized X5 that we know as the X6, Mercedes-Benz just recently revealed their competitor for the first time with the GLE Coupe. That of course leaves the third German rival without a direct competitor to the X6, Audi.

Though due to exponential demand increases, Audi immediately hopped on the luxury sports crossover bandwagon with their research and development. And the apparent, soon-to-be result is this Audi Q6, which was supposedly leaked in concept form ahead of its Frankfurt Motor Show.

As anticipated, it looks like a lowered, sleeker, and sportier version of the Q7 with a slick-back roofline and decreased ride height.

Cadillac maybe working hard to shed their reputation for being the top fleet choice for high-end black-cabs, airport limousines, and even hearses. But they still are a provider to that market and essentially, that’s what the XTS is for.

It may not be a strong seller for the main consumer market, but there are still strong sales in China as well as fleet customers and as a result, Cadillac’s planning to keep the front-wheel drive XTS alive until 2018 or 2019.

When compared to the first six months of this year, Cadillac sold more XTSes than CTSes, but then again this is most likely bolstered by major fleet sales and top sales in China.

CAR in the UK received some P-Car news in regards to the rumored four-banger mills destined to show up in near-future Porsche Boxster models.

In the age of downsizing and lesser cylinder counters, Porsche has supposedly been working on some new boxer fours, which could render the typical use of Zuffenhausen’s flat-six, obsolete.

And recently, CAR heard the new fours could produce as much as 240hp from a single-turbo 2.0L setup, while the more expensive and powerful S variant could produce as much as 300 from a turbocharged 2.5L flat-four. The high-end GTS should be pushed up to a whopping 370hp figure from the same 2.5L turbocharged four, while the flagship GTS could retain its flat-six from its larger 911 sibling.

Could this be the end of the normal six-cylinder Boxster? Possibly, though sources within Porsche still haven’t been too specific.

Ford’s under some heavy scrutiny in the name of safety after some revealing tests from the nonprofit organization, Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, proved that the all-new aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F150 is a Top Safety Pick, if you opt for the best-selling SuperCrew bodystyle. And this raises some major concerns for the entire F150 lineup alone since this basically implies automotive safety is something that’s a bit of a luxury, when it shouldn’t be.

This epiphany surfaced after the IIHS ran the F150 in its various forms through their famous, and relatively new frontal-small overlap test, which also happens to be a rather common type of collision in the real world.

According to a supporting report from AutomotiveNews in June, AN prompted the IIHS to test two other F150 bodystyles and the results were a bit staggering. While the F150 SuperCrew maintains its structure in the frontal-small overlap crash, the lesser F150 SuperCab didn’t exactly fare so well. In fact, it actually performed terribly, as you can see in our featured image for this article.

Some new news is buzzing in regarding Honda and Acura with the possibility that Honda could be producing a baby Acura NSX for its own portfolio.

Honda’s been kicking their efforts into high gear recently after realizing their brand is in need of a little chutzpah, on top of making competitive mainstream cars. As a result, Motoring insists that there’s a strong possibility for a possible baby-Acura NSX on its way.

According to the report, this new model will sit below the NSX as a way to provide a new halo car for Honda, similarly to how the S2000 was the automaker’s sole sports car at the time.

The new baby NSX is to include a hybridized Super Handling All-Wheel Drive setup, similarly to the NSX, though power should be supplied by the latest 2.0L turbocharged four-banger, in place of the larger NSX’s twin-turbo V6. The smaller model could also gain four-wheel steering.

Overall, the idea here is for Honda to once again grab the attention of driving enthusiasts since Acura gains a halo car with the NSX. Though in markets abroad, the NSX is badged as a Honda and doing that here is a rather big social no-no.

As majority of the media world waits, along with the rest of the world, to drive the hotly-anticipated 2016 Cadillac CTS-V, the lucky dogs at Road&Track were able to get their hands on Cadillac’s biggest performance statement yet since the ATS-V.

And they were able to see just how fast the new CTS-V is. How fast is it? Batshit insane fast.

With their own telemetry and independent testing, R/T was able to crank out a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds while 150 mph happened in just 17.8. Crikey! That’s just a 10th of a second faster than the official 0-60 time of the latest BMW M5 with the competition package. It might not be much, but it’s…faster...just.

Dutch publication AutoVisie chomped down on some Swedish meatballs to inform the world that Volvo’s planning to sell their next-generation V40 in the United States when it gets launched next year.

This is great news because Volvo’s been lacking in the compact and hatchback departments ever since the S40, V40, and C30 were retired from the lineup.

The new V40 is destined to get its backbone from Volvo’s latest compact C-Segment Modular Architecture or CMA, jointly developed with their relatively new Chinese partner, Geely, according to Volvo’s senior vice president, Alain Visser.

Visser also provided some details regarding the V40’s powertrains, which would range from the usual use of forced-induced four-bangers, with possible hybrid options in both gas and diesel form. Though focus is most likely going to be placed on the gasoline versions as diesel-electric hybrids only have the most potential in European markets.

When should we expect it? Sometime later next year as a 2017 model alongside a crossover variant to the V40, called the XC40. That’s scheduled for a reveal in 2018. What we care about is whether or not Volvo will produce Polestar versions of the V40.

Badgineering (badge + engineering) over time has proven to barely work as American automobile manufactures learned the hard way, for example taking a Ford Crown Victoria, giving it some new headlights and taillights, a separate grille, and a half-assed slightly-improved interior proved to hardly be a successful formula.

Though alternatively, in some cases, cooperative projects have worked quite well, with such automakers like Lexus and Toyota brands and even Honda and Acura. But that’s because those automakers took major steps to differentiate their offerings. For instance, although the Lexus ES has always been a glorified Toyota Camry, the ES looks and is built to quality levels that the Camry itself could never dream of accomplishing.

In lieu of Daimler and Renault-Nissan’s latest partnership, the two corporations confirmed to be taking extra steps to make sure their collaborative projects remain clearly different from each other, despite sharing parts and construction.